


Minish

by TheArtisticIntrovert



Series: The Legend of Link: Tales through the Multiverse [2]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
Genre: Angst, Spoilers, also probably not canon-complient, idk i havent finished the game yet lmao, probably AU, super headcanon-heavy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-13
Updated: 2017-02-13
Packaged: 2018-09-23 23:48:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9687959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheArtisticIntrovert/pseuds/TheArtisticIntrovert
Summary: Heroes come in all shapes and sizes. The Hero of Time was ten-seventeen and the boy who saved Termina was eleven-eighteen. But in a land where there are no wars to be fought, no immediate threats to the planet, no moons threatening to crash down upon a town who'd wronged it, children are children.Unless your best friend gets turned to stone, and you're the only one who can save her.





	

He is a child. Too young, his grandfather says, to play in the fields alone. Too young, the baker says, to be running around Hyrule proper without an adult. Too young, the guards say, to look around the Trilby Highlands for a pretty flower to give to Zelda. Too young to do _anything,_ it seems like.

 

At least, until Vaati turned Zelda to stone. Then, apparently, the fate of the entirety of Hyrule rested on his shoulders. The fate of his _friend_ rested on his shoulders. His small, too-thin shoulders. And when it felt like a wave was roaring in his ears, he wished someone, _anyone,_ would tell him he’s too young.

 

But, they didn’t. He could barely lift the prize sword, the hilt feeling too thick and too heavy in his hands. The Picori sword felt better, but it was _only_ a hilt, blade stopping in a jagged break just past the crossguard. So instead, he wrapped the entire thing in a thick cloth and stored it in his backpack, nestled next to the tiny shield Zelda gave him and a small bag of rupees. Instead, he shouldered the sheathed prize sword, lugging it across town to the Minish woods, and inside he felt like dying.

 

Ezlo helped. When the first nightmares came, he let him snuggle him tight, even though it hurt his neck and Link’s tears matted his fur. When Link awoke in a blind panic, Ezlo let him cry, politely turning away until the tears dried. He helped, lightening the mood when the Keaton just outside West Hyrule tried stabbing him. Helped, when he stumbled into a cave, bruised and bleeding from the Tekkite’s sharp pincers.

 

He was a child. Too young, he thought, to be a hero. Too young to bear this responsibility. Too young to traverse the kingdom with only a cursed Minish to accompany him. Too young to be so hurt. Too young to die. Too young to know where all the fairy fountains are, and too young to know exactly how many strikes with the White Sword it takes for the monsters to die.

 

The Minish, he noticed, looked fainter now. He had to strain to hear them, to see them, even though he _knew_ that eight-and-a-half was still young enough to see them clearly. Even when he was the size of a Minish himself, he still found it hard to see them. They were transparent, insubstantial, like colorful wisps of cotton coalescing in the wind. He didn’t want to think of what that meant.

 

So instead, he smiled. He hid his tears, pushed away the nightmares, and stopped flinching whenever red (or blue or green or yellow) stained his blade. He didn’t cry when the monsters vanished in a puff of smoke, didn’t tremble when the first Ghini wrapped him up and licked his hair with its long tongue. He ignored the problems, hoping they’d leave him alone, hoping he could be ‘too young’ once more.

  
He can’t see the Minish anymore. Is eight-and-three-quarters too old now?

**Author's Note:**

> Started playing Minish Cap and holy HELL i have a lot of feelings about this Link. especially since canonically the only ones who can see the Minish are CHILDREN???????? seriously it's just ASKING for angst.


End file.
